Google is working on a brand new note taking app called Google Keep. From the images that have trickled out so far, Google Keep looks like the successor to Google Notebook. Like Google Reader, Notebook found itself on a spring cleaning list and was shut down in 2011. With Google pushing hard to attract folks to Google Drive and Docs and make Chrome OS a more appealing choice, the time is right to introduce a new cloud-powered note-taking app.

A handful of Google Drive users were able to access Google Keep before the drive.google.com/keep URL started spitting out 404 errors, but Android Police blogger Ron Amadeo managed to snag a series of screenshots before getting the boot. Keep will allow users to create text notes, clip and insert images, and add checklists — just like the uber-popular Evernote. Individual notes can be filed into groups and archived like Gmail messages when you don’t need them front and center any more. And just like Gmail does, Google Keep has a search box at the ready to help you find those elusive notes later on.

Google Keep data will reside in Google Drive, just like your existing Google Docs, Photos, and Scratchpad uploads. If you’re not familiar with Scratchpad, it’s a very low-fi notepad app for Chrome OS that’s almost certain to get the axe once Google Keep is ready for public consumption.

When is Google Keep set to arrive? May 15-17 at Google I/O 2013 seems like a pretty good bet, as the company will have plenty of new hardware and software goodies to show off to attendees. Then again, Google Keep doesn’t look like the kind of thing that needs to be kept under wraps for two more months. Google may also be planning a soft launch of Keep now and then showing off its full potential at I/O.